The Things I Do For Love
by Curious Archer
Summary: Robin and Lucy have gone on an adventure back in the Enchanted Forest, searching for something very important for Alice. And nothing will keep Robin from getting her hands on it. Not even an good old fashion life or death situation. Curious Archer Family.


Robin's arms were aching, there was a thin sheen of sweat that was covering every inch of her body, making her already tight fitting clothes cling to her in the most stiff and uncomfortable of ways and she had somehow managed to cut herself along her right palm, deeply enough to bleed and trickle irritatingly down towards her elbow. The worst part was that she was currently clinging to the side of the mountain, halfway up its steep climb with nowhere to pause and clean herself up. There was nothing left for her to do but to push on until she had reached the top and could drag herself safely over the edge. Which was being made incredibly difficult as the gaps, cracks and rough edging of the mountain she was using began to smooth itself out the higher they climbed and her legs were cramping along the rest of her joints in protest at just how far she was having to stretch and twist in order to keep going.

Wetting her lips, amused by the thought that her mouth was the only dry part of her at this point, Robin glanced over to where Lucy was not far to her right. Not for the first time did she feel guilty about bringing the thirteen – nearly fourteen – year old girl along with her. But when Jacinda and Henry had asked her to spend some time with their daughter and keep her entertained while they went out for the day, she hadn't realised to just what lengths this adventure would be taking them. And when she had tried to tell the younger girl to wait at the bottom of the mountain or, better yet, return home, she had flat out refused. In Lucy's words; her parents had told Robin to keep her entertained and this was the most entertaining thing Lucy had done in months.

Taking another deep breath and wetting her lips once more, Robin tilted her head back as far as she dared and looked up. They were still quite a long way before they would reach the top, and the mountain curved slightly outwards the higher they got, just to make matters even worse, meaning twisting around onto solid ground was going to be troublesome. Robin was pretty sure she could do it, even as tired and sweaty as she felt, but Lucy might have a tougher time managing. Though according to Jacinda, she'd been having little adventures of her own so Robin just hoped one or two of those adventures included some serious climbing classes.

"Lucy! How you holding up?" Robin called, trying not to let her arms shake. She wanted to keep up the appearance of being strong so as to give Lucy the encouragement to push on with her. If she started panicking or showing weakness, then Lucy might pick up on it and it might cause her to make a mistake and get hurt.

"I'm fine!" Lucy called, pushing up slightly faster, in a way that made Robin's stomach knot with nerves in fear for her but Lucy really was a natural at this and didn't seem to be struggling at all.

"We're almost there," Robin shouted. "Just keep it up!"

"I got it!" Lucy said, pausing to turn and grin at her. Her hair had been cut short recently, into a cute bob that framed her face and she was definitely growing, yet she was still the same adventurous second cousin Robin had grown up babysitting over the years for so long before the curse. The same girl who loved excitement and adventure almost as much as her mother and father did.

Turning back to focus on her own climb, Robin knew all she could do was hope Lucy didn't slip and fall while she was dragging herself up. She winced again at the cut on her hand and paused just long enough to wipe the blood off on her trouser leg before reaching up and digging her fingers into the nearest crack above her head. Taking a deep breath, Robin pulled and lifted her foot at the same time, pressing her toes against the inside of soft shoes and tucking them onto the slightest edging. She spent a moment testing her weight before pushing and pulling herself upwards.

It was a slow process. Robin had to check her footing every step of the way, testing her weight to make sure the pieces of mountain she used wasn't about to crumble under her. She had to check her handheld grip on the many edges and cracks was firm as well, knowing the blood still staining her skin and leaking from her palm could still make her slip. And then there was the simple fact of keeping her balance, even when the wind picked up and pushed at her side, like the world itself was purposely trying to throw her off. Robin desperately wanted to keep checking on Lucy but forced herself not to, knowing it would slow her down and could even cause her to make a mistake of her own. She was just going to have to trust the younger girl to make it on her own.

Yeah, she was really glad Henry wasn't around right now. She'd have to give Lucy a talk about what you do and do not tell your parents after a secret adventure with your cousin.

For the next few hours (hours, minutes, whatever, Robin hardly had the energy or the ability to double check her watch) Robin and Lucy climbed in an almost silence. The only sound breaking it was the whistle of the wind screaming in their ears, and the heavy breaths panting from their open mouths. They didn't have any further problems in their climb until they were almost close to the end.

That was when Robin made the mistake of tilting her head back and looking up towards the top of the cliff again. They were not far away, in fact only a little bit more and they would be able to reach the top and possibly pull themselves over in one quick tug. In her excitement at being so close, Robin scurried slightly faster than she should have and when she reached up for a bit of rock, she didn't bother to test her weight and it snapped off just as she began pulling.

Robin let out a shout of surprise as her body dropped, luckily though she also reacted out of instinct and her hand reached out as her feet dug into the side at the same time. Some good fortune played a big part in her save, actually. Somehow her foot and her hand caught onto a part of the solid mountain, not giving way under her sudden pressure and she was able to scramble her other hand to get a proper grip again before she could lose her balance and fall completely away.

"Robin!" Lucy called from a little way above her now.

"I'm fine!" Robin said quickly. "Keep going!"

"But…" Lucy began.

"Lucy, you can't help me! Not until you're at the top! Now go!" Robin snapped.

"Be careful," Lucy said finally, turning and continuing her climb.

Taking a breath, Robin forced herself to slow down and pay attention to what was in front of her. It wouldn't do to fall and leave Lucy on her own here, though Robin had a pretty good feeling the girl was resourceful enough to make her way home alone if she had to. Still, she'd rather not leave her to find out.

With Lucy now ahead of her, Robin had to physically keep herself from watching after the other girl instead of concentrating on her own struggle. She was in a dangerous position now. The part she had fallen to wasn't exactly how she had originally climbed and there were few places to grab onto and to wedge her toes in order to keep going. She cringed at just how much of the mountain in this particular area was almost as smooth as glass and had to control herself to avoid panicking, knowing it would only make things worse.

Instead she paused, long enough that her heart rate had somewhat evened and then began to reach up for the next bit of firm jutting rock that she could squeeze her fingers around. She pulled on it and scratched her foot up until she found a second holding, then stretched up and leaned dangerously to the side, spider crawling up the rest of the way and shaking even when she realised she was almost to the top. She paid attention only to what was in front of her, even when she was close to the end, so as not to make any more silly mistakes. In fact, she didn't realise she was really done until she felt Lucy reaching down and grabbing her upper arm, helping pull her up and slide back across the solid ground.

"Woo!" Robin gasped, rolling away from the edge and sitting up. "Wasn't so hard, was it?" She grinned.

"Are you kidding?" Lucy smirked. "I've done harder climbs in the local library."

Robin laughed, "Don't tell Gideon that. He'll skin you alive if he's heard you've been climbing his shelves."

Lucy grinned and the two paused for a moment to share a soft giggle between them. They were winded and tired but unfortunately they didn't have long to spend resting. They both had separate reasons for needing to be back at a certain time, which meant after just a few seconds of catching their breath and bandaging up all minor injuries they had gotten during the climb, they stumbled back onto their feet and started along the mountain top, away from the edge.

"Where to?" Lucy asked, still breathing a little harder than normal but that didn't stop her. In fact she was already walking slightly ahead of Robin, walking at a brisk pace.

"This way," Robin said, reaching into her side pocket and pulling out the map she had prepared for the journey. She had her aunt enchant it so that it not only updated her on weather changes and possible dangers, but to also show them exactly where they were and where their treasure was, even if one or both of them was moving at the time.

"So how is Alice?" Lucy asked as they trudged along a spread of grass in direction of a small forest like area in front of them.

"She's doing good." Robin nodded. "Though a little bit… Frazzled."

Lucy giggled. "I'll bet." She said. "Have you guys settled on a colour to paint the room? I heard mum mention that you couldn't agree on it."

"Yeah, Alice still wants orange and yellows. She wants a sunset like look but I think pink and purple would look nicer." Robin sighed. "At this rate I think we're going to have a mix of the two and that's just gonna be weird!"

"It could work," Lucy noted thoughtfully.

"Please don't tell Alice that." Robin said quickly. "She'll actually think that's a good compromise."

"But it would be," Lucy shrugged.

"I'd rather just give in and let her have her way," Robin said, shaking her head when Lucy began laughing at her.

"There's your compromise!" Lucy grinned.

"Yeah I guess it will be." Robin snorted.

They had just entered the forest ahead of them at that point. Then again, it couldn't really even be called a forest. If anything, it was more of just a simple wooded area with thin trees spread far apart from one another in some places and close together in others. The whole of the plant life was a bright healthy green shade, slightly damp though Robin didn't think there had been any rain today, and with patches of light where the sun beams slipped through the gaps in the branches overhead, creating a pattern with the shadows at their feet.

Keeping the map held up in front of her, Robin began to guide the way for them, twisting in and out of the trees with great care. The map would alert them of possible dangers, but it couldn't predict everything and there was still a chance of running into some trouble if they were not cautious.

"How much further?" Lucy asked.

"Not far… I don't think…" Robin mumbled, frowning at the map.

"Think?" Lucy frowned.

"Something's not right…" Robin continued. "It's… Moving."

"How is that possible?!" Lucy gasped. "I thought no one came up here."

Robin scowled and looked up. "Well they must have. And now they've taken it."

Lucy looked up at her and Robin glanced back, their eyes meeting for a moment. Then, without a word needing to be said between them, they broke out into a run.

Robin kept the map out, crushing it in one hand and only glancing at it occasionally with Lucy following hot on her heels. They darted in between the trees and pushed on without pause and without any more care which was incredibly reckless but neither thought twice about it. The plant they were looking for wasn't exactly rare but it only grew once a year and already that time was coming to a close. Most of it had already been taken by nearby villagers or wild animals and this was among the last ones left that Robin could get to in time. It was her last chance and she wasn't going to let it escape her.

"Where to?" Lucy asked as they broke out of the woods and into an fresh stretch of grassy fields.

Robin paused just long enough to have another glance at the map, now creased and crumpled from her tight hold. "Dead ahead!"

Lucy dashed ahead of her now, crossing the stretch of grass and skipping over the occasional rock or bump in her way, positively vaulting over the bushes and large rocks as she went. For a moment Robin was stalled, impressed by the younger girls surprise agility, before she remembered why they were here and chased after her.

They didn't have to run for long before they were forced to come to yet another stop. Just over a short hill was a wide open lake that stretched impossibly in every direction, so much that Robin would have thought it was the sea itself if they weren't on such high ground.

"Where to now?" Lucy asked, panting to re-catch her breath.

Before Robin could answer her, something jumped out from the water at their feet. They both let out twin shrieks of surprise and back-peddled a few steps, but the thing from the water didn't follow them. In fact it just rests its arms on the side out of the water and leaned down to put its pale chin on top of them calmly, like a girl at a sleepover, chatting with old friends.

And it was a woman, or rather, a mermaid. One with long dark brown hair and pretty light brown eyes. She was very pale and skinny with blue shaded nails and soft pink lips that were turned upwards into an amused smile as she looked from one human girl to the other.

"Are you just going to stand there?" The mermaid asked finally, her tail slapping in the water behind her. "Or are you going to tell me why you're here?"

"Us?" Robin scowled. "What about you?" She demanded.

"This is my home." The mermaid said calmly. "You're trespassing."

"Wait a minute, don't mermaids live in water?" Lucy frowned.

"Our home is in the water but this whole land belongs to us." She said coldly, glaring at Lucy. "And isn't it past your bed time?"

Lucy frowned and raised an eyebrow, glancing up at the blue sky. "It's midday." She said. "If you're going to use century old insults, at least have them make sense."

"Easy, girls." Robin said quickly, before Lucy could piss off the mermaid that one step too far. "Look, we're just looking for something. It's a special plant-"

"It's ours." The mermaid said firmly.

"What?" Robin blinked.

"It was on our land and therefore it belongs to us." The mermaid said, pushing away from the edge, preparing to sink back under the water.

"Hey! Wait a minute!" Robin snapped. "First off, the kid's right, you don't own land, you live under water. So if anything ended up on here then that doesn't automatically make it yours! Second off, how did you even get it? And third, you're going to damn well give it to us or I'll chase you under the water myself, you little sea bitch!"

"Uh… Robin…" Lucy said nervously.

Robin glanced at her and saw Lucy staring wide eyed at something across the water. When she followed her gaze, she saw what the younger girl was looking at. A series of shadows were moving from the distance, closing in on them at a surprising speed. All the shades in the water were hidden, but it didn't take much for them to realise what they were.

"Run away little girls," The mermaid sneered. "Run away while you still can."

"Robin!" Lucy said, grabbing her hand.

"They can't come on land," Robin said, shaking her off. "And I'm not going anywhere without that plant."

"Oh we can't?" The mermaid sneered. "You clearly know nothing about your mermaid mythology. Or at least nothing about nature. Because it's high tide down by the sea."

With that, the mermaid suddenly jumped, throwing herself out of the water. Robin and Lucy backtracked fast, just barely dodging out of the way as her body hit the ground and only a few seconds passed before her fin was replaced with a pair of smooth legs under a torn flashy skirt like material attached to her waist.

"Oh crap…" Robin mumbled as several other mermaids appeared at the edge of the water, pulling themselves up onto land.

"Robin…" Lucy said, her voice very nervous now.

"No more chances," The original mermaid sneered. "Now see what we do to trespassers."

"Lucy, get back." Robin said, lifting her bow from where it had been resting on her shoulder and notching an arrow into place.

A part of her mind was screaming at her to turn around, grab Lucy's hand, and run for it. And that was the smart thing, it was what she should have done, she knew this…

And she still couldn't bring herself to turn back. Not after they had come so far. They had been through way too much crap to just give up now and return home empty handed. And even more than that, Robin couldn't give up now because she couldn't bear the though and disappointing Alice even for just a moment.

"You really intend to fight us?" The mermaid laughed at the sight of her arrow.

"Lucy! Get back!" Robin repeated, wasting no time as she fired the fire arrow at the mermaid, scratching her side and catching the back of her skirt, successfully pinning her to the spot.

"No, I can help!" Lucy said, pulling out a short dagger that had her fathers initials engraved onto the handle.

"Lucy!" Robin snapped.

Before she could say anything else, a mermaid who had pulled herself onto land faster than the others jumped forward, using a surprising amount of speed to close the distance between them, grabbing onto Robin's wrist before she could fire a bow at her and twisting her arm behind her back. Robin dropped her bow from the pressure and shouted, but only for a second when Lucy stepped forward and stabbed the blade into the mermaid's newly formed leg, causing her to shriek, letting go of Robin and falling to the ground. Robin ducked and grabbed the bow, lifting it and aiming as the next two mermaids climbing up from the water. The original mermaid had finally succeeded in ripping the arrow out of her skirt and freeing herself, glaring as she took a shaken step forward.

"Okay, you win." Robin said. "But don't get yourself killed or you mum will make sure I join you in Underbrook shortly after."

"Deal." Lucy said with a shaky grin.

Robin began firing arrows one after another with little hesitation between shots. She barely had time to aim, luckily she didn't really need it. There were so many, it wasn't hard for her to hit her target, aiming for unstable legs and arms mostly and watching as the injured quickly returned to the water to heal, thinning out the crowd in seconds. The original mermaid seemed to freeze, a look of fear passing over her face as if realising maybe she had picked a fight with the wrong people. But then she was charging forward with the rest. It seemed she hadn't expected a fight, but nor was she going to let that stop her.

Meanwhile, by her side, Lucy was showing a whole new side of herself. Gone was the little innocent princess, all hail something else entirely. The lessons she had been taking with her father and great grandfather was shining through as she ducked to the side, slashing the knife in front of her and in a sharp circle, catching the mermaids along their sides and legs and drawing a fair amount of blood. She didn't cut very deeply, but she moved like a speedy bug, sliding in between their fingers and hands like a pro and running off before they even had a chance to realise she had nicked them.

The mermaids began to ease off slightly, either a series of cowards had chickened out and ran away or they were injuring more than they realised and the wounded ones were falling back to heal in the water. However the ones that remained were both more stubborn and more difficult to get the upper hand on.

"Robin! Look out!" Lucy cried. She had slowly made her way through the crowd and now stood beside the lake, turning around and catching sight of Robin behind the blur of the crowd between them.

Robin turned in time to find one of the mermaids had snuck up behind her and lashed out with a piece of broken glass wrapped in seaweed in a makeshift dagger of her own. She dived at Robin seconds after Lucy called out her warning and Robin rolled her body out of the way, spinning slightly and crashing into one of her other attackers. Luckily the attacker was thrown to the ground and off her unstable feet while Robin smoothly twisted onto a comfortable position, swinging an arrow and catching the mermaid's wrist, cutting her deeply and knocking the weapon from her hand.

With a slight huff of excitement, Robin turned to share a grin with Lucy only for that grin to freeze on her face and her eyes to widen in horror. "LUCY!" She shrieked.

A mermaid appeared before Lucy could even fully turn around. It wrapped its long pale arms around her shoulder and waist, pinning her own arms to her side, and dragging her backwards even as Robin continued to scream for her.

Lucy hadn't even been pulled off her feet when Robin started forward. She swung arrow after arrow into her bow, firing them seconds after one another, no longer aiming to injury and disarm. Now she no longer cared about having the lives of these creatures on her hands. All she cared about was getting to Lucy before it was too late.

However even that wasn't enough.

Despite Robin dashing her way through the crowd, firing at anyone who dared get close enough, kicking and punching at those she missed and going a fast as she could, Lucy was already lifted off her feet. She was falling backwards and was pulled into the water behind her with a great splash.

"LUCY!" Robin shrieked, wasting no time as she dropped her bow and threw her arrows off her head so as not to weigh her down. Even as the other mermaids still rushed towards her from behind, Robin was jumping up and diving head first into the water after the younger girl.

Robin was a fairly decent swimmer, but she wasn't a mermaid. Already Lucy was vanishing from her sight where a blonde haired mermaid was dragging her deeper to the dark shadows of the bottom of the water. It was impossible to see through the blur of salty water stinging her eyes but Robin was sure Lucy was struggling with every ounce of strength she had, but a lack of blood suggested she might have already lost her fathers dagger. That wasn't good. It meant she really did have no way of defending herself.

Robin felt the ripples and splashes in the water as the other mermaids jumped in after her, and she began kicking her legs and waving her arms as fast as she could, pushing down and fighting the cold sting as best as she could. The more she moved, the more she wanted to breath, but she resisted turning back, refusing to leave Lucy to the mercy of these creatures. So she pushed on despite the pain that was building in her chest and the throbs that were pounding against her temples.

Suddenly something grabbed her leg and she was spun around only to be dragged down further and faster into the water. Robin momentarily let herself be pulled along, relaxing and focusing on holding her breath instead. After all, these mermaids were too stupid not to take her down to where they were also taking Lucy.

Sure enough, they dragged her into a small cave like area and Robin squinted through the water, catching sight of Lucy's struggling figure. Maybe it was Robin's imagination, but she was sure her struggles were getting weaker and that gave Robin a new adrenaline rush of strength despite how badly her own head was pounding. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a short dagger, half the size of Lucy's and definitely no good in a real fight, but by now, Robin planned playing it dirty anyway.

Pulling herself up, Robin swung herself down and dragged the blade across the back of the arm of the mermaid that had a hold of her. She let out a sound under the water that must have startled her friends because they all pulled away enough for Robin to swing herself around, grabbing onto the ceiling and pulling herself up before using that to kick and boost herself away from them and towards Lucy. There were only two mermaids surrounding her, and both were distracted in their attempt to pin her to the cave's rocky floor.

As Robin kicked her feet against the ceiling and dived down on them, she stretched out her arms, wrapping around one of the mermaid's throats and catapulting the two of them into the second, knocking them both away from Lucy. The younger girl immediately twisted around, pushing up just as the other mermaids crowded the small space, only that caused them as much of a problems as it did Lucy and Robin. There was no room for them to cram inside and get a decent grip on either of the girls, giving them a fighting chance. Whenever they attempted to hold one of them down, one of their friends got in their way and allowed Lucy to slip free, swimming beneath and away from them. Meanwhile Robin was using the mermaid she still had the arm around as a shield, kicking her feet against the wall again and propelling herself into the crowds, knocking against them and using the short dagger to scratch anyone who attempted to pull her off their fishy friend.

Robin was lashing out blindly, having lost track of Lucy at this point and was nearly choking the mermaid with her tight grip, all the while she kicked her feet and waved the dagger at the free space around her. By now her whole body was aching, her throat was bruised like she was being the one choked, her chest on fire and her head thudding like someone was hitting it repeatedly with a small hammer. It wouldn't be long now before she began losing consciousness and then she would be weak enough to be at the mermaid's complete mercy.

Well, so long as Lucy got away…

Suddenly someone grabbed her wrist and began dragging her backwards. Robin tried to pull herself away, but she was also concentrating too much on keeping a hold of her mermaid shield who was struggling just as much as she was. But when two mermaids finally grabbed a hold of their friend's tail and pulled back, Robin was left with no choice, releasing the mermaid and quickly spinning to attack the other creature holding onto her arm, only to stop short. It was Lucy!

The younger girl had a tight hold on Robin's wrist, pulling her up as fast as he legs could kick, dragging Robin without a look back. Robin reached up, swapping the dagger to her other hand and turning back just as a mermaid launched at her, slicing the dagger across her face as quickly as she could in the water. The mermaid was fast but unsuspecting and let out a soundless bubble of cries under the water, clutching her face and falling back as a second mermaid took its place. Robin kicked that one on her shoulder, knocking her back. Then stabbed a third one to try and attack them, catching her in the eye, nearly losing her dagger when she struggled to pull it free again.

And then, for whatever reason, the mermaids seemed to give up. Robin squinted down at where they were left lingering and hiding in their cave as streams of blood spread from the wounds and into the water around them…

Wait… The Blood…

Common sense just barely kept the panic from making Robin do something stupid, like gasp in surprise or blurt out a warning and therefore accidentally suck in a mouthful of water. Instead she turned around and began swimming, catching up and surpassing Lucy quickly. She glanced at her, expecting the girl to be unsure of what was happening, but as soon as she saw the wide eyed terror in her expression, she knew Lucy understood as well as she did what was coming.

The swim back was much longer than the swim down, what with no longer having the mermaids to give them an unwanted life, and every second Robin became aware that she wasn't far from passing out from the lack of oxygen. But more than that, she had to fight the urge to look around for the coming threat, hoping beyond anything that she was wrong and the mermaids had simply given up out of boredom.

And then something dark appeared in the corner of Robin's eye and she couldn't resist turning to face it. It was a great distance away, and still so large. Its dark shadow moving through the water towards them and even with her blurred vision, Robin could tell it was aiming straight for them.

Focusing as much strength of her arms and legs, Robin pushed ahead, reaching to grab Lucy's elbow and encourage her on, struggling to keep her breath held even as his lungs screamed in protest. She looked ahead and nearly screamed in joy as a flash of light appeared just above the surface. Not long left. They just had to push on a little further, just a little further…

Something brushed behind them and Lucy lost the last of her nerve, looking over her shoulder and finally opening her mouth to scream. Robin knew what would happen next and reacted instantly. As the creature swung behind them, Robin reached over and wrapped an arm around Lucy's chest, pulling her close while the other hand reached up, pushing towards the surface like if she could just get her fingers above water, then that would save them and everything would be okay. Lucy's body began to instantly thrash and struggle as she was unable to keep from breath in and choking on the water, but they didn't have long to go. If they could just make it to the surface, she could cough up everything she had accidentally swallowed and they would be safe.

Only, before Robin's finger could grace the air with Lucy still held against her, something grabbed Robin's leg and pulled her back. She tried to break free but was forced to look back and a burst of bubbles brushed out from the corner of her lips. She quickly clamped them shut again, fighting her own urge to scream in both fear and frustration.

The creature that had caught up to them was like a shark, except three times the size of the largest one Robin had ever seen. It also had wide eyes that seemed almost human except for the sharp colour around the slit of its cat like pupil and one eye was firmed locked on Robin. And to make matters worse, while the creature was so large it was unable to turn around quickly to grab onto them, they couldn't escape either. Not while Robin's trouser leg had gotten caught on one of its outstanding teeth poking out from its large twisted mouth. Robin tried pulling herself free with brute force but it was useless, she couldn't just tug an escape.

With nothing else to it, and so close to surface, Robin turned and put both hands against Lucy's backside and spine, pushing her up with the last of her strength and throwing the young girl back above the water, into the open air above. As Lucy left her hands, Robin turned and crouched herself towards the creature which was slowly pulling her away now. She lift the dagger in her hands and rammed it down as hard as she could into the creatures side, right to the hilt, hoping to cause it enough pain and shock to open its mouth, giving her a chance to unhook herself and swim away. But the daggers prick barely got an eye-roll from the creature and afterwards Robin found she was unable to pull it free of its thick skin again.

Her vision was clouding dark. Her face felt red hot from the effort and already the back of her nose and throat were burning where the water was getting in and she struggled to keep it from getting any further to her lungs. Her limbs were suddenly heavy and she couldn't even force herself to crouch close enough to try and unhook herself…

Then suddenly, a second shape appeared beside her and Robin focused just enough to see Lucy, with her father's dagger back in hand, cutting through Robin's trouser leg. The blade was sharp and her material weak, meaning she was done in a matter of seconds. As soon as she was free, her body began to automatically drift upwards, but she didn't have the strength to swim properly. Luckily Lucy remained by her side, grabbing her arm again and pulling her upwards.

The creature seemed to sense their escape and immediately turned to follow, but once again its large shape slowed it down and they were still so close to the surface. Before it had fully faced them, the two of them broke through and Robin heaved a desperate choke of air, coughing and gasping like an addict. She must have swallowed more water than she realised because a mouthful quickly came next. Robin found herself heaving pond water and choking on every breath. She let Lucy – who wasn't do much better in terms of breathing – pull her limp body back to land, which was thankfully just an arm stretch away.

As soon as she felt her arm brush solid ground, Robin forced herself to move on her own, reaching up and grabbing handfuls of grass and soft dirt, physically dragging herself up out of the water with a series of messy splashes. She had just pulled her last foot out and rolled away from the edge when the huge shape of the creature appeared just bellow the surface. It was close enough for her to see it clearly and Robin pushed herself up enough to watch as it paused, eyeing them for a moment before turning away and continuing its dive back in direction of the mermaids and their blood. Though Robin doubt they would be so easily caught. They'd survived this long and the creature had certainly wasted enough time coming after her and Lucy.

For the next few minutes, the girls collapsed on the ground, lying close to water, unable to drag themselves any further away while they were panting and coughing deep wonderful burst of beautiful air. It was so sweet, Robin almost allowed herself to shut her eyes and drift off to the gorgeous feel of fresh oxygen making its way down her throat and the firm grass lying under her… But the throbbing in her skull remained and kept her from falling asleep too quickly.

With one finale deep breath, Robin rolled onto her hands and knees, looking up at Lucy by her side. "You okay?" She gasped.

"I'm okay," Lucy grumbled, looking very green but surprisingly upbeat. "You?"

"I'll live," Robin groaned, rolling to sit back and sighing, she pulled an aching leg up and rest an arm over the top of it. "All that trouble… And I still didn't get my hands on that damn plant."

"You didn't." Lucy agreed, sitting up and grinning. "But I did!" She reached into her belt and pulled out the plant. An ugly looking green stem with an odd brown ball hanging off the end and a single leaf dangling off the other. It was drenched and dripping from the water, but still very much healthy and alive. "Who knew they could survive being under water." She noted cheerfully.

"Lucy, you beautiful, amazing, fantastic little girl!" Robin shrieked, leaning over to her. She grabbed the sides of Lucy's face and kissed her hard on the forehead before taking the plant carefully from her and cradling it between her hands. It was falling to pieces in her palms but as expected, the most important piece remained protected and untouched.

Lucy laughed at her expression, sitting back and watching as Robin stood and collected her bow and arrows where they remained untouched on the ground by the water. She carefully tucked the plant in the front of her shirt pocket before reaching down a hand to help the younger girl back up on her feet.

"Now we just need to get back," Lucy said with a groan, tucking her dagger safely back against her side.

"Meh, can't be any worse than getting here." Robin laughed, still breathless. She reached over, putting an arm on Lucy's shoulder, allowing the two girls to support one another as they stumbled back towards the cliff edge.

 **O*U*A*T**

That evening, Robin was in the kitchen, having showered and changed into some dry clothes that didn't smell of pond water and give away the adventure she and Lucy had shared that day. She'd sent the kid home straight away, not needing to ask her to keep their fun from her parents (as Lucy said: "if I told them what happened, they'd never let me go out with you again!") and then had headed straight back herself, doing her best to not run into Alice so as to avoid awkward questions about her drowned and bruised appearance. Luckily Alice had been taking a long nap when Robin returned and, now that Robin was preparing dinner, was only just waking.

The sound of her familiar footsteps coming down the stairs made Robin smiled and she rushed to finish dishing up the last of the hot stew she had prepared, pouring it into two matching bowls, all the while knowing Alice would end up having them both. Quickly she placed the bowls on the trays, followed by two glasses of chocolate milkshake, then carried it carefully into the living room. Alice had already moved and taken her seat in her favourite chair in the corner by the window, still dressed in a comfortable baggy white jumper with some light blue underwear that was barely hidden by the top.

"Hello." Robin beamed, setting the tray on the coffee table in front of her. "How'd you sleep?"

"Not great," Alice mumbled. "I feel kind of lousy."

"Well maybe this will help you feel better." Robin grinned, picking up one of the bowls and holding it towards her so she could see the pieces floating along the top and smell the intense scent of the rare fruit mixed up inside.

Alice sat up sharply. "Is that…?"

"Yup!" Robin grinned. "Dig in."

"But… How?" Alice asked, already taking the soup from her hands, ignoring the spoon altogether and taking loud slurps straight from the bowl.

"Let's just say, Lucy and I took a quick trip back to the Enchanted Forest to pick it up." Robin explained, standing and moving to sit on the arm of the chair by her side. "I know how much you've been craving it." She said, reaching down and stroking some blonde hair from her face, gazing down at her swollen stomach, pressing against her baggy top.

"Oh, Robin," Alice beamed, pausing her meal to look up at her. "I hope you didn't go through any trouble to get it…"

"No trouble at all." Robin grinned.

Just then there was a loud whimper from the baby monitor sat on the bookshelf. The whimper quickly turned into a cry. Not of someone who was upset, but who wanted attention regardless.

"I swear, you two are on the exact same sleep schedule." Robin laughed, leaning down and kissing the top of Alice's head. "You eat. I'll go get Desirae."

"You're too good to me." Alice said happily.

Smiling, Robin stood and started back up the stairs, waiting until she was out of Alice's sight before she allowed herself a slight groan and rubbed the sore spot on her lower back, flexing the fingers on her freshly bandaged hand. No doubt there would be a fair share of growing bruises and she was almost glad Alice had passed the phase of her pregnancy where the only intimacy she enjoyed these days was that of cuddling and soft kisses. Not that she was complaining. Robin would go through the same thing a thousand times to make sure Alice was happy, but she didn't want her love to feel guilty about it, either, so she'd keep her aches and pains to herself for now.

At the top of the stairs, Robin turned into their bedroom and found Rae stretched on her back in her crib, staring up at her with teary eyes that relaxed almost as soon as her mother stepped into the room. While Robin picked the younger girl up and rocked her gently into a stage of content against her shoulder, downstairs, Alice finished off both the bowls and the two milkshakes. They really did blend nicely in her mouth. It was just a shame the fruit Alice had been craving didn't grow anywhere but in the Enchanted Forest.

Wetting her lips, Alice looked down at her stomach and ran her hand over the top of her jumper. "We really are lucky, sweetheart." She said quietly. "I can't wait for you to meet your mummy… She's gonna spoil you rotten."

"Who's going to spoil who?" Robin asked, appearing at the bottom of the stairs with Rae in her arms.

"You." Alice beamed. "Spoiling the whole family."

Robin rolled her eyes with a soft smile. She wandered into the kitchen and returned a few seconds later, with a bottle of apple juice in hand, taking her place on the sofa and offering the drink to their daughter's already pouting lips.

"That was lovely. Thank you," Alice said, sitting back with a satisfied sigh.

"No problem, if you fancy anything for tomorrow, then let me know and I can do some early shopping in the morning." Robin said, cuddling Rae even as she dribbled half her drink down her chin.

"You know what I really fancy…" Alice said, suddenly shutting her eyes and smiling at the mental image. "One of those munchkin sweets your mum once got us from Oz…"

"Mmm hmm." Robin nodded, already mentally planning the trip.


End file.
